Season 6 of The Clone Wars was an interesting one for me because I never actually finished it as a kid. I watched up to The Disappeared but I kinda just gave up since I didn't wanna watch a two-parter about Jar Jar Binks. Now, I want to give this season a full chance. Is it going to be better than I remembered? And was I being too harsh on that Jar Jar Binks episode?
Clone Protocol 99 Arc: This arc was a pretty strong start to the season. It's another clone focused storyline, but this time it's about Order 66. The Unknown starts the arc with a pretty genius premise: What if Order 66 activated early and resulted in a Jedi's death. The first few minutes are a dark and intriguing examination into a clone's psyche after Order 66 is activated, but otherwise, this is a lot of set-up. Conspiracy ended on a pretty shocking note by killing off the presumed main character Tup halfway through the arc, making Fives the actual protagonist. Shaak Ti also appears for the first time since early Season 3. It's probably my second favorite episode of the arc, though I felt the medical droid AZI-3 was a bit annoying. Fugitive was fun and all, but it felt kind of annoying to get another "fugitive" episode so soon after the last one (the final arc of Season 5 had a similar storyline). However, it's still an action-packed episode that ends with Fives learning about the inhibitor chips and telling Shaak Ti. Orders is a strong and heartbreaking ending to the arc, with Fives unable to reveal Order 66 and ultimately being the last of the Domino Squad to (supposedly) die. It was a bit frustrating to see things end so badly, but I know that was the point of the episode. Overall, this was a really solid arc for its set-up of Order 66, heartbreaking ending, and dark tone, even if it boasted a lot of similarities with Season 5's fugitive arc.
4/5 Stars
Rush Clovis Arc: Senate Spy was one of the few episodes/arcs of the series that I gave a 1/5 stars. I hated Clovis, but more importantly, I hated Anakin's jealousy attitude towards Clovis. So I was not excited to get a three-episode-long arc about exactly that, though it didn't reach the lows that Senate Spy did. An Old Friend was easily my favorite of the arc entirely because of Embo, a cool bounty hunter who finally got an episode to himself. The rest of the episode (and most of the arc) was pretty standard Early Season 3 fare, but that final chase in the snow was just so good. The Rise Of Clovis, on the other hand, was pretty much built entirely around the rivalry between Anakin and Clovis, and they both suck! By the halfway point where Clovis tries to kiss Padme and Anakin starts beating him up, I just completely checked out. It just felt so melodramatic, and while I get how the show wants to show Anakin and Padme falling apart as he goes closer to the dark side, their relationship isn't all that strained at the start of RoTS, so it feels kinda forced. Crisis At The Heart at least ends the arc with a more action-packed episode that mostly wraps up the story and gives Clovis a solid exit, and it doesn't have any scenes as bad as that fight in the previous episode. Overall, I didn't like this arc all that much. The Embo episode gives it an extra star, but otherwise, it feels like these episodes were ripped right out of early Season 3. It was either focused around dull economic discussions or a frustrating rivalry that I just couldn't get into.
2/5 Stars
The Disappeared Arc: I was dreading this two-parter when I was younger, a storyline about Jar Jar Binks and Mace Windu sounded like the worst thing ever, especially since I didn't quite like either characters. Jar Jar was annoying and Mace was a jerk to Ahsoka. However, upon actually seeing this episode, it's... not... the worst? I still think Shadow Warrior was the best Jar Jar episode, but this one had quite a bit going for it. Mace and Jar Jar had a solid dynamic, not unlike Jar Jar and C-3PO in Bombad Jedi, and the concept of an Indiana Jones homage felt perfect for Star Wars. We even got to see what happened to Talzin after she disappeared in Season 4. However, this didn't need to be two parts, especially since the second half was far less enjoyable than the Temple Of Doom-inspired first half. Like all of the Jar Jar arcs, there's only so much of him I can really take, and I absolutely did not need to know about his love life. So was I right to dread this one as a kid? Eh, not really. This wasn't a necessarily good episode, but there were some fun sequences here, and I'd say it was somewhat more entertaining than parts of the Clovis arc. The thing I regret most though is missing out on what comes next...
2/5 Stars
Yoda Arc: What the hell was wrong with me? How did I miss this storyline as a kid, it would have blown my mind! This is an entire arc focused around Yoda, and its goal is to address many of the force-related mysteries the franchise has been holding off on the answer to. There's tons of references, plot twists, cool fights, stunning visuals, and appearances from a large portion of the Jedi Council. Pretty much, if you find force lore fascinating, this arc is for you. The Lost Ones establishes the intriguing mystery about what happened to the enigmatic Jedi Sifo-Dyas. This episode jumps between a bunch of planets as the Jedi question people, even giving Palpatine's predecessor a surprise appearance as well. I also like how the Jedi finally start to learn more about the Separatist plans, along with that slick final battle with Dooku. Voices is where the arc begins proper, kickstarting with Yoda hearing Qui-Gon's voice. We finally get to learn about force ghosts, culminating in Yoda taking a trip to none other than Dagobah. The highlight of this episode is easily the scene where he gets visions in the cave, primarily because we get to see some RoTS scenes in the show's animation style.
Destiny isn't quite as fanservice-y as Voices and goes for a similar storyline to The Box and Monster, but it makes up with some really trippy visuals (I get a lot of Twilight Princess vibes from this one) and some cool sequences. It's a great examination of Yoda as a character, we learn a lot about him, especially the fact that he has a bit of a dark side. The trial of temptation sequence was also just haunting. Even with the Clone Wars having generally strong finales (2, 4, and 5 all had great endings), Sacrifice might be one of the show's strongest. There are just so many cool scenes here, we get to see the Sith's home planet, Bane makes a brief appearance, and we even get a (good) fight between Yoda and Sidious! The whole vision scene is really cool in the way it foreshadows a lot of Revenge Of The Sith, not unlike Buffy's Restless. But what I especially love is its hopeful ending. Yoda knows and has accepted that the Jedi may lose the Clone Wars, but he also has the hope that they'll win some other way. Overall, it's a shame I didn't see this arc until now because it's really good! The visuals are stunning, the action is fun, the references are numerous, and the force lore is fascinating. Despite its similarities, I might actually like this arc more than Mortis probably because of just how much of a love letter it feels like to Star Wars as a whole.
5/5 Stars
Overall, Season 6 was definitely a step down from the last two. It had a good start and a great end, but it also had a weak middle section. It was nice to finally get to see the Yoda arc which rose up to become one of my favorites, but otherwise, this season was standard Clone Wars fare.
3/5 Stars
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